Lamprey River: Meeting Minutes 2017-06-13

Like the Packers Falls Bridge, the LRAC seeks to connect people to the river.

Photo by Ecophotography

Lamprey Rivers Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

June 13, 2017

7:00 P.M. Lee Safety Complex, 20 George Bennett Road

APPROVED AUGUST 8, 2017

members present: Emily Schmalzer (Brentwood), Cynthia Kelsey (Deerfield), Al Hall (Candia), Mary Ann Krebs, Anne Lightbody, Dick Lord (Durham), Joe Foley (Epping), Kitty Miller (Lee), Carolyn Matthews (Raymond)

staff present: Laurel Cox, Jim MacCartney, Suzanne Petersen

members absent: Elizabeth Dudley (excused), Sharon Meeker (excused), Preston Samuel (excused), Michelle Shattuck (excused), Deb McNelly (excused)

Meeting began at 7:05.

summary of motions:

Carolyn Matthews made a motion to approve and send the project review letter drafted by the workgroup chair regarding above-ground storage tanks at the Newmarket WWTF. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Dick Lord made a motion to accept the Ad-Cetera proposal for graphic design and printing 100 copies of the 20 Year Progress Report with a not-to-exceed amount of $5000. Al Hall seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

Dick Lord made a motion to approve the FY2018 budget as presented. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously among the five W&S representatives present.

approval of minutes from May 9, 2017:

Carolyn Matthews made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Cynthia Kelsey seconded. Minutes were approved with 8 yes votes and 1 abstention.

financial report:

Normal activity was reported for checking account activity and book sales.

workgroup updates:

outreach, recreation, and history: Please see notes attached at end.

project review:

An application for above-ground storage tanks at the Newmarket Wastewater treatment Facility was received after the scheduled project review meeting. The workgroup chair crafted a letter citing NHDES standards and a request for improvements for weather protection of a flat-topped tank. Carolyn Matthews made a motion to approve and send the project review letter drafted by the workgroup chair regarding above-ground storage tanks at the Newmarket WWTF. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

water quality:

The group did not meet in May due to scheduling conflicts, but will meet in June.

wildlife:

The main discussion centered on how to use the stream crossing data, maps, and report prepared by Fitzgerald Environmental. The full committee should discuss what would like to see as a plan for outreach to the communities and how to engage at least one to improve a problematic stream crossing. Money is available for targeted outreach in the current budget and extra could be set aside next year to help a town with an actual project. A few details need to be worked out: Do we have photos of each site or are they at least available through Fitzgerald? How do these data compare with the data by NHGS; do the two sets need to be utilized simultaneously?

grants:

Canoe passage enhancement: The contract with Trout Unlimited hit a snag and is being tweaked, but should be finalized soon. No actual work has begun yet.

The grant application to help Epping buy a kayak trailer and encourage hesitant paddlers to become more confident was denied.

May 13 statewide LAC workshop highlights:

Carolyn Matthews, Sharon Meeker, and Preston Samuel attended.

NHDES plans to offer a LAC workshop annually in the future.

The Upper Merrimack LAC offered helpful tips for project review.

Several rivers shared success stories, including advice for river clean-ups.

Mast Road Natural Area grand-opening, Epping, May 20:

This 531 acre parcel was conserved by SELT with significant funding from LRAC W&S. The site was abused and neglected in the recent past, but SELT has removed tons of waste, rehabilitated wetlands, created a nice walking path, and has enabled the site to revert to a beautiful natural area encompassing diverse habitats for several threatened species.

LRAC 20 Years of Progress Report:

A solicitation for bids was sent to three local graphic design and printing entities. One bid was received from a person with whom the committee has worked before and who has shown herself to be very accommodating to the committee’s many requests. Dick Lord made a motion to accept the Ad-Cetera proposal for graphic design and printing 100 copies of the 20 Year Progress Report with a not-to-exceed amount of $5000. Al Hall seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

other:

summer meetings: The group agreed by consensus not to meet in July. Next meeting will be August 8.
The Partnership W&S Rivers will gather in July to exchange ideas, discuss matters of concern, and learn about visual resource assessment.
Stream crossing report needs to be utilized.
- The current budget includes $3500 for outreach to communities on this topic. This could be done by Colin Lawson who has experience in this area.
- The committee might want to consider setting aside $5000 in next year’s budget to help a town with a stream crossing project that benefits the town’s infrastructure as well as improving connectivity for aquatic organisms.
- First steps might include asking towns to identify the 5 or 10 most problematic stream crossings in town so that we can see if any have potential for aquatic organism passage grants. It will be important to work within each town’s political/cultural structure. Getting conservation commission buy-in might be important in some towns to get the buy-in of town leaders.
Proposed FY2018 budget prepared by Jim MacCartney was shared with all in the form of a detailed spreadsheet pertinent to each workgroup, a simplified overall budget, and a budget narrative. The overall amount is $99,000, which is $9000 more than last year. Dick Lord made a motion to approve the FY2018 budget as presented. Anne Lightbody seconded. Motion passed unanimously among the five W&S representatives present.
Schoppmeyer Park easement paperwork was signed on June 9.
Representatives were encouraged to share outreach offerings with their local libraries.
The LRWA has a new executive director- Christos Tsiamis. He should be a strong advocate for wildlife and recreation.
LRWA activities:
- Fun Float at the Raymond Town Beach, August 12
- river-wide clean-up day, September 16
The Raymond Triathlon will be held on September 9 and includes a paddle off the town beach.

adjournment:
Al Hall made a motion to adjourn. Dick Lord seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 8:07.

ATTACHMENTS:

Outreach, Recreation, & History Workgroup Meeting Notes

June 7, 2017

present: Preston Samuel, Dick Lord, Mary Ann Krebs, Sharon Meeker, Suzanne Petersen

Rec:

potential activities/projects:

tidal paddle with Seven Rivers

paddling in Epping, Durham, and Lee

paddling safety classes to prepare participants for Splash and Dash

walk at Heron Point

fall kayak tour with Epping Rec.?

Macallen portage- get help through Stewardship Network?

canoe passage work with TU update:

Contract is still being negotiated and tweaked. No details available about preliminary work (obstruction final survey and plan of action, contact with landowners). Suzanne will contact Jim for any updates.

trails:

The Lee Conservation Committee is focusing on trails that are already developed or in development stages and that are on Lee–owned lands. LRAC has assisted in GPS mapping and some financial support of the mapping already begun by the Lee CC. The trail in Little River Park is overseen by the Lee Recreation Committee. The next step is to make the map is available in some way to the public along with proper trail procedures for users.

SELT is producing nice maps and brochures for their various trails.

Schoppmeyer Park update:

Current easement draft includes boilerplate language limiting size of signage. Is a kiosk a sign? Does kiosk framework count as part of the sign size? The issue is being sorted out by lawyers from the town and the church. Easement signing will take place June 9.

history:

Sullivan’s Falls archaeology: Durham Historic Association vice president has expressed some concerns based on deeds research about the designated uses determined by the archaeologist. The DHA vice president is currently occupied with another project, but intends to pursue this later this year.

Wadleigh Falls: Is the area a historic neighborhood? It seems likely, but official designation will require a local champion. Not all neighbors need to sign on to the project, but it would nice if the Meekers could get the ball rolling before they sell/move.

Newmarket Mill history for children: Might this be a good topic to pursue for another children’s book? First, we need to consult with the Newmarket Historic Society to see what they have already done to collect and consolidate the info.

outreach:

Suzanne had a busy month in May: 8 events and over 180 people.

Bids to provide graphic design and printing for the 20 year progress report have been solicited; only one bid has been submitted so far.

Small Grants:
- No proposals have been submitted yet. Ideas are there, but all need tweaking.
- Great Bay Stewards suggested inviting people to visit Chapman Landing in Stratham as a model of buffer improvement.
- Newmarket Recreation suggested creating a program to prepare potential Splash and Dash racers similar to a “couch to 5K” program.
- Seven Rivers suggested some sort of partnership to include a tidal paddle and safety training.
- Suzanne was encouraged to help potential applicants as much as possible, but it was agreed that grantees need to “drive the bus.”